Kyle Edmund reaches for a backhand in his 6-4, 6-4 defeat of France's Kenny De Schepper in the first round of the Aegon International. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Kyle Edmund's first victory on the ATP tour was the absence of any nerves. Against a player ranked 362 places above him the 18-year-old, who was making only his second appearance on the senior tour, simply took everything in his stride and performed with the composure of a seasoned professional to beat Kenny de Schepper 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Aegon International at Eastbourne.

This has been a whirlwind few weeks for Edmund. Having won the boy's doubles at the French Open earlier this month, the world No444 was given a wild card for the Aegon Championships at Queen's, where he lost to Grega Zemlja in the first round last week, a defeat which felt like small fry a few days later when he was given a wild card for Wimbledon. The attention will only intensify from here and it would be advisable if people did not get too carried away just yet.

Even so, this had the potential to be an awkward test against a 6ft 8in left-handed Frenchman, whose serve unsurprisingly packed a fearsome punch. Yet Edmund embraced the challenge impressively, breaking De Scheppers in the first game of the match and later winning a point in the second set after managing to return a 133mph second serve.

"I've been training hard after the loss at Queen's," Edmund said. "I've been focusing on returning. It's just as well playing the guy who's got a big serve. I just had the intention of trying to put a lot of balls into play and go from there. It worked out great. I think it's just more of a reaction than instinct."

With the seagulls chirping away in the background, Edmund called the tune throughout and the only moment of worry was a heavy fall by the baseline. He served so well that he did not have to face a single break point, there was a pleasing variety to his game and his forehand is a weapon of genuine force. Although his backhand was sketchy, Edmund was hitting forehand winners for fun by the end of the second set, repeatedly finding the lines with unerring accuracy.

Having wrapped up the first set in 29 minutes, Edmund was handed a decisive break in the seventh game of the second after a woeful volley was followed by a double fault from De Schepper, an occasionally powerful but mostly cumbersome Frenchman. Even when he was serving for the match, Edmund kept his cool. He rattled off four successive points and then celebrated by raising a small clenched fist.

"When I get nervous, I go into a little shell," Edmund said. "That's from past experience. So, you know, I don't think there was a need to be nervous, because then I wouldn't be able to play my game and I'd de walking off court thinking 'Oh, I didn't put everything out there', which was the last thing I wanted.

"It's nice to be able to know that I can play at that level but, you know, my goal is always to play at that level and also have a ranking out of it. It's two different things, to be able to play at that level, but to do it week in and week out is a different challenge and I want to be able to do that."